Off the Record

Commentary on the Journal of the Mississippi Baptist Convention

Katrina Musical Remembrance
David T. Clydesdale will be leading a Coast-wide choir concert on August 19th in the Gulf Coast Coliseum. More information is provided at www.katrinaremembrance.com. This promises to be a powerful worship experience. Walter Brueggeman writes powerfully about the force of laments to move the believer from a place of disorientation to a new orientation. My prayer is that this event will facilitate this process for our friends on the coast. We spent all last week down there and they are still struggling. We passed a FEMA trailer on hwy 90 that had a big white cross in the yard. It had painted red letters that said, "Jesus has risen and so will we." We pray that they will.

Lum takes reins as Evangelism Director
Don Lum has been selected to fill the role of state evangelism director. Don is from Pearl and knows a lot of people in our church. They think very highly of him and I have every confidence that he will do a good job in his new position. Our prayers are with you Don.

Satan's ultimate adrenaline rush
The last bit of interesting reading in the Record was a quest opinion written by Jon Kittrell, pastor of Shugualak Baptist Church.
He argues that the devil gets his grins and giggles watching Baptist fights. I appreciate the general tone of his writing and agree that discord does not normally promote the advance of the gospel. I think, however, that he may have glossed some issues of real importance. For instance he stated, "In the last year, it appears to me that we are squabbling over issues that do not impact theology." The biggest issues over the past year were about theology. The IMB trustee issue was about the gifts of the Spirit and the doctrine of the Church. Wade Burleson and other missional Baptists are simply working to keep the SBC from further becoming a Fundamentalist sect. The legacy of the conservative resurgance is becoming one of radical exclusion. This is an important theological issue. The NAMB issue was about more than "effecient management." It was a reflection of a power culture born out of a certain theolgy. Unity can exist in the presence of differing opinions. We must work to improve the Convention while striving for a bond of peace.

4 comments:

Bro. Rob said...

I read Jon Kittrell's article and I, too, appreciated the overall tone. But he mentions something that I'm seeing in many comments on the SBC blogs. He speaks of dissent and differing views as if there should be none, or at least, not discussed in public. You can't put two Baptists in the same room without some dissent. Some of the differing views have been voiced in somewhat questionable tones, but I disagree with the overall view that dissent is wrong and un-Christian. (Did I just dissent?)

It's almost like we've reached perfection in some way within the convention and there is no longer any room for improvement. Therefore, if anyone questions or has differing views, they are automatically labeled as trouble (among other things).

I'm all for the convention. I can also see where there could be some improvements. I don't want to see the SBC split or diluted in any way. I do want to see it always looking to become more effective in contributing to the building of the kingdom.

Matt Snowden said...

Rob,
I will dissent from your dissent by totally agreeing with you. The health of our ongoing ministry is dependent on everyone looking after the best interests of the mission and being willing to speak from the mind and heart.

Matt Snowden said...

Rob,
I will dissent from your dissent by totally agreeing with you. The health of our ongoing ministry is dependent on everyone looking after the best interests of the mission and being willing to speak from the mind and heart.

Perry McCall said...

Matt,
your comment on the legacy of the resurgence "becoming" more fundamentalist is dead on. I understand your response to my post on SBC Outpost even more after reading this post. responding to this trend is what I mean when I stated the "our deabatre is a matter of commitment not rejection" We must learn from the mistakes of the past...Theological and political.
and lead to a brighter and more biblical and more missional future.
Perry

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